Who are we?
What are we?
This might sound like an extra-weird thing to bring up in our eighth year of existence, but it's been on my mind a ton ever since we committed to the new HQ/shop. Maybe that's because I see the HQ/shop as an anchor to our 2.0 phase and would love to have everything aligned when our doors open next month. Maybe that's because ... well, it's really my personality to agonize over finding ways to get better.
Whichever the case, the question applies. And the closest I can come to an answer is this: Coverage that connects.
Yeah, that's the slogan ...
... so it'll sound cheesy to recite it here, but in having this conversation with Dali the other day, she was the one who brought it up like this: We won't break all the news. We won't win on every column, feature or analytical piece. We won't have the biggest budget in the world or the biggest staff or, for that matter, the biggest HQ/shop. But what we can and must do is connect in a way that no one else can.
We've got to listen to our community. We've got to care not only about the comments and other engagement that we do on sports subjects, but also about what consumers want from the product. We've got to think about everything we do in relation to how it affects the front end.
But also, and more than ever now that we'll be in a public place where everyone can come see us, we've got to be the faces, the voices, the words you trust when it comes to the Steelers, Penguins and Pirates. We've got to take you along with us on the job, wherever we go. We've got to be thinking of how you see what we're doing. We've got to be what Pittsburghers near and far, current and former, think of when it comes to this experience.
I'm grateful, always, for the advice a longtime reader, Jeffrey Zink, has offered in this regard. His Colorado-based company, V2LS, offers broader visions to companies everywhere, and he's forever been kind enough to help us from the heart. I can't recommend Jeffrey, or this general approach, strongly enough. Feels like a grounding place to be.
HQ/SHOP UPDATE
Our street sign's been cleared, but we still aren't holding the physical permit. As such, we can't begin the fabrication of the sign, which takes about a month.
That's where we stand with the opening. We're in great shape with construction and so forth, as we've shown here. But it doesn't make much sense, if any, to have an opening with some kind of paper sign out on Fifth Avenue, so we're absolutely going to wait it out.
Projected opening: Mid-April.
NEEDED: BOOKS
We've got all kinds of merch lined up to offer visitors to our HQ/shop, but the one area where we haven't really put out a call yet is for books. And we'd love to have books.
To be clear, we're seeking to stock new books by current authors, not anything used. We'd be a de facto outlet for the latest books related to Pittsburgh sports, and that'd apply beyond Steelers, Penguins and Pirates. Anything at all.
Shoot me an email: DK@DKPittsburghSports.com
WE GO EVERYWHERE
Now that Major League Baseball's lifted its lockout, Alex Stumpf and I can get back to covering the Pirates ... in a big way.
We'll both be in Bradenton, Fla., for the belated opening of spring training, Alex beginning Sunday and me a couple days later, and we'll be sending back all kinds of material. From there, we'll both be in St. Louis for the April 7 opener at Busch Stadium. And from there, we'll be all over all 162 games. And the minors. And the draft. And all else.
We'd love to have everyone along for the ride. Except Rob Manfred and Scott Boras.
• Dale Lolley's headed down to the NFL owners' meetings later this month, also in Florida.
BACK TO BUSINESS
• Our page views for the past week were 399,103. Our most-read original piece was Dale Lolley's analysis from Indianapolis following the NFL Combine, at 16,594. Broken down by team, articles on the Penguins brought 25.5% of our traffic, the Steelers 21.4%, the Pirates 10.4%, Pitt 1.43%, Penn State 1.40%.
• Our podcast downloads for the past week were 234,749.
• Our YouTube video views for the past week were 67,055.
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